Secret Santa
by Surrealtraversity
Summary: House receives a gift from his Secret Santa, who also happens to be his secret admirer? Maybe this year, House is going to get more for Christmas than he originally thought. Slash


**Author's Note:** It's been ages since I wrote something _not_ Beyblade related, and I thought I'd throw everyone for a loop and try my hand at something else. This could be a wonderous thing, and this could go _horribly_ wrong. We'll see.

**Warnings:** This is slash, and House is ooc, especially towards the end.

**Disclaimer:** I hate these. They remind me that I'm nothing in the owning-department.

_PLEASE, since this is my first House fanfiction, PLEASE review and tell me if I should continue or if I should go back to Beyblade and never do this again._

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Secret Santa

House blinked, stunned as he stared down at his desk. The previous week Cameron had come up with that stupid Secret Santa idea, and had gotten every staff member he had ever come in contact with and then some to participate. House had chosen Wilson, which had worked to his advantage. At least this time he had an excuse when he gave Wilson something hilariously offensive. That's not what shocked him, however.

It was the package in green wrapping paper that shocked him.

He picked up the package, which was actually rather thin. He turned it over to unwrap it, and found an envelope taped to the back. He opened it, to find a card inside of it.

_Greg,_

_I found this ages ago and when I saw it, I immediately thought of you. I just never knew how to give it to you in a way where you'd actually possibly accept it before now. I thought, and I hope, that maybe if you received it when nobody was around then you'd be more likely to keep it._

_I hope you're happy with this gift, even if it is rather small. I doubted you'd want something extensive. Your happiness is the best gift I could possibly get this Christmas. I love you, Greg._

_Your Secret Santa_

House frowned in confusion. This was a puzzle indeed! New goal: find out who his Secret Santa and secret admirer was. The letter was typed, so it's not like he could figure out who wrote it based on handwriting.

Hoping that the present would give him a clue, he quickly unwrapped the rather thin package and was shocked to find a music book filled with works from one of his favorite composers. Unfortunately, this provided more questions than answers. He'd never told anyone which composers he preferred. Was the gift the result of dumb luck, or something else?

House carefully placed the book in his desk, making sure it was not in danger of being damaged in any way. He then returned his attention to the card. The person called him Greg. Not many people called him that anymore. Even Wilson, his best friend, rarely called him Greg. In theory, the fact that the person had called him Greg should have narrowed the list considerably.

Unless the person had never called him Greg before.

House sighed. He needed coffee.

House got up and walked into the conference room just as his little ducklings walked in. He rose an eyebrow at the stuffed animal Cameron was carrying. "Going back to preschool?" He asked her as he poured the coffee. "Last time I checked stuffed animals weren't exactly on the 'bring to work' list."

"It was a gift from my Secret Santa," Cameron replied. "I think it's rather adorable."

House rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his coffee, nearly spitting it out the moment he did. "What is this crap and who made it?" He asked, his eyes narrowing at his ducklings who, to his dismay, did not cower in fear.

"It's decaf," Cameron replied. "There's nothing wrong with decaf. It's healthier."

"And more disgusting!" House glared. "Chase, make some decent coffee," House said, dumping his cup out and scrubbing it in an attempt to rid it of any lingering disgustingness left by the contaminating coffee.

"With pleasure," Chase replied, dumping out the coffee pot and rinsing it and grabbing a clean one. "I told you not to make that coffee. What's the point of drinking coffee if you're going to drink decaf, anyway?" Chase asked Cameron.

Cameron huffed, ignoring him.

"Have you gotten your Secret Santa gift yet?" Foreman asked House in an attempt to change the subject.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

One week after receiving his Secret Santa gift and finding out he had a secret admirer, House was no closer to figuring out who said person was than he was when he first received the gift. This irritated House to no end.

It was Christmas Eve, and House was getting ready to leave. Cameron had left to visit family two days ago, and Foreman had left at around noon to catch a plane to wherever it was he was going. Cuddy and Wilson had also left earlier that day. The only ones of House's inner circle left were himself and Chase. He didn't really have anywhere to go, and Chase had refused to shell out a ticket to Australia to see a father he wanted nothing to do with.

House entered the conference room, grabbing his coat on the way. It had been snowing all day. He was grateful that he had decided to come in his car, rather than taking his motorcycle. He looked up quickly when he heard a sharp intake of breath, and saw Chase hunched over the sink.

House quickly walked over, setting his bag and his coat on the table. He reached the sink and looked over Chase's shoulder, only to see a large shard of glass in the sink and blood pouring out of the blond's palm. House quickly grabbed a towel and reached for Chase's hand, pressing the towel into the palm hard. "Hold onto this," House replied as he began rummaging in the cabinets before finding what he needed and forcing Chase into a seat.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Chase stuttered, as House pulled the rag away and cleaned the wound.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm fixing your hand. You should know this, Chase; you're a doctor," House replied.

"You don't have to. I can just go down to the ER and-"

"Like hell you will," House replied, as he gave Chase a shot to numb his hand so he wouldn't have to feel the stitches.

"I'm okay, really," Chase replied shakily.

"Do me a favor and think of something else so I don't have to keep worrying about how to distract you," House replied.

"Like what?" Chase asked quietly.

"Like where you got that book of compositions you gave me," House replied as he prepared to start stitching Chase's hand.

"I have a friend who works in a music store," Chase replied, before realizing what he had just said. His eyes widened in horror and he quickly tried to get up, but House placed a firm hand on his shoulder and forced him to sit down again. "I really should go," Chase stuttered. "I shouldn't keep you any longer. I'll just go to the ER and have them finish the job."

"Hush," House replied, placing a gentle hand on his cheek. "You'll do nothing of the sort. You'll sit right here and let me do this."

Chase didn't say a word, but quickly glanced away as House pushed the needle into his hand. "You can perform operations but you can't watch yourself get stitches?" House asked quietly, trying to keep his tone soothing.

"I can't watch the needle go in my arm when I give blood either," Chase replied, and House noted how cute he looked with that heavy blush on his cheeks. "It's different when you're watching something happening to yourself, rather than someone else."

Chase glanced down at his hand, before realizing his mistake and squeezing his eyes tightly shut. House frowned when he noticed Chase's hand shaking, before he realized the blond's whole body was shaking. House quickly tied off the stitches before wrapping Chase's hand in a bandage and pulling the blond to him in a tight hug, running his hands up and down his back gently.

Chase stiffened at first, but quickly melted into the embrace. This was everything he had ever dreamed of, and more. He didn't know when or how he'd fallen so hard for the man holding him, but this moment alone made it all worth it. If only he could stop shaking! Chase hated how any time he got hurt or had to give blood for any reason or anything that required needles going into his skin, it always ended in him shaking like a leaf. He was teased in medical school for it, and he was suddenly terrified that House would make fun of him too.

"You're thinking too hard," House whispered in Chase's ear. He could practically feel the waves of emotion rolling off of Chase right now. House held Chase tighter, burying his head in the blonde's hair. He was pleased to note it was even softer than it looked.

He felt Chase relax more, as he continued to hold Chase and rub his back soothingly. House wasn't sure how long they were there, but after a while he felt Chase's breath begin to slow and even out. He glanced down at Chase's face, noting how peaceful he looked.

"I love you," Chase whispered so quietly that House had barely heard it. House smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of the blonde head resting on his chest. House suddenly realized that without being aware of it, he'd been falling for the Australian doctor as well. He didn't want to know how that happened; he refused to think about how the younger man could have possibly broken down his walls without even realizing it.

House shifted and Chase opened his eyes blearily. House smiled in amusement; the blond had actually fallen asleep in his arms. It had been a long time since anything close to that had happened, and House found that he had missed the feeling much more than he thought he had.

"What are you doing for Christmas?" House asked, and Chase frowned sleepily.

"Nothing," he replied. House noted the pained expression on Chase's face, and realized that Chase was one of those people that couldn't hide the emotions on their face when they were tired.

"Come with me," House whispered, placing his hand on Chase's cheek. "Stay with me." Chase's eyes widened and he blushed bright red, causing House to smile. "I'm not saying we have to do anything. I don't want to rush anything with you, and we certainly won't do anything unless you're ready for it. I'm just asking you to come home with me. Let me wake up to you in the morning."

Chase's blush increased, if that were possible, and he looked up at House. He felt like a teenage girl for blushing like this. He hardly ever blushed, especially not this much! What was happening to him? As he looked at House, though, he realized that he liked the older man's idea. Chase hadn't had a boyfriend since he was in high school. He missed the feelings being in a relationship brought him. He missed having someone that he could call at three in the morning and know the person wouldn't be mad but concerned, he missed having someone hold him and protect him, and he really missed the feeling of knowing that there was one person that would really love him even if everyone else was mad at him because he'd made some kind of stupid mistake. While he figured that expecting House to be his alone or expecting House to be in a relationship was completely idiotic, hell would freeze over before he passed up an opportunity like this. House had offered, not in so many words, to let the blond sleep in the same bed as him. He'd be a fool to pass this up considering how much he loved the older man.

"I'd love to spend Christmas with you," Chase whispered, and House smiled. They both stood, and Chase jumped when he felt House take his good hand and lace their fingers together. Chase gazed at House with mixed emotions, the largest one being confusion. Yes, the idea that House was actually holding his hand was enough to put him on cloud nine for a month at least, but why was House holding his hand?

House smiled, seeing the confusion on Chase's face. "If you thought I was going to let anyone else have you after you told me you love me, then you've got another thing coming," House teased.

"Aren't you afraid someone will see, though?"

"Not really," he replied. "I don't care what anyone else thinks about anything I do, including this. I'm not ashamed of you, and I won't hide this unless _you_ want to. I don't know what I'm doing, Chase," House sighed, suddenly becoming more serious. "It's been a long time since I was in a decent relationship, and I won't lie to you and say I'll never hurt you. I will probably say things without thinking or do things without asking you and thus hurt or infuriate you. I won't do it on purpose, I assure you, but I'm not perfect, Chase."

"I wouldn't love you if you were anything but yourself," Chase replied, squeezing Chase's hand. "I don't want you to change for me. No, I wouldn't object to a few less insults at work, but I won't even ask that of you. All I want is somebody to care about me again."

House smiled as he leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to Chase's lips before pulling back slowly. "I think I can do that," House replied, as he began walking to the door with Chase's hand in his.


End file.
